“Why do you always look like you’re in a rush?”

One of my residents asked me this as I was hustling into Seavers Hall last week. My response is simple — “Because I am.”

Coming into this semester, I knew that I had a lot of responsibility on my plate. In addition to my five classes, I am a resident assistant for 42 students in Seavers Hall, I tutor 10 hours a week in the Learning Center, I work as a student ambassador and I spend many hours in The Slate office as managing editor.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have class from 9:30-3:15 and work from 3:30-6:30, so I am booked for at least nine hours straight. Thursdays are my duty night, so I go right into another six hours of active responsibility.

These Your World Today columns are usually meant to allow Slate management to get something off our chest and give advice to our readers. This week, I feel like I need to be asking for advice. We are barely a month into the semester, and I feel drained. 

I am fairly confident that my current schedule is not sustainable for the rest of the academic year. I feel guilty that I am not currently able to spend more time in my residence hall and build the connections that I both want and am required to make. 

I believe something in my schedule needs to change, but I cannot find anything to cut loose. I almost wish I was involved in things I didn’t enjoy doing. 

I love being an RA and wish I could focus on that so much more. I love working with communications/journalism students through tutoring and helping them understand grammar on a deeper level. I love working with the student ambassadors and helping out with events as I can. 

And I have loved my first few weeks as managing editor here at The Slate. As I have told many of my comrades over the past week, we really are “student-journalisting” so hard these days.

So, this is my open call to my especially busy Raiders out there who may have some advice on how to keep it all together.

Because I am spreading myself too thin, and I am not that flexible.

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